Supporting the patient journey through real-time information and data

In February, we held two webinars at the Health Plus Care Online event. To end the two days, we spoke as part of the Patient Safety & Infection Control stream about how more effective use of data and information can have a significant impact on patient safety and journeys. 

Speaking at the event was: 

• Paul Johnson – CEO at Radar Healthcare 
• Ann Highton – Governance Advisor, Lancashire and Cumbria ICS, Local Maternity System
• Alistair Frost – Vice President, International Patient Flow Operations at VitalHub
• Amjid Mohammed – Head of Service at Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS FT, and Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teach Hospitals NHS FT 

Making use of waiting times in A&E 

We started the patient journey with A&E, and Amjid discussed the process and how patients wait an average of 2 hours (‘down time’) which he explained as the biggest unused resource in the NHS. He highlighted how with around 25% of the population walking into A&E every year, it works out at 50 million hours lost.  

Instead of finding their own ways to fill the waiting time in A&E, patients could use technology to enter useful information about their needs and the reason for their visit. This empowers the patients as they can have a part in their own patient notes, meaning they are more accurate and there’s a lower chance of human error, plus it takes some of the load off the health workers.  

Amjid talked us through the Emergence model; how we can apply simple rules to complex situations. Care should be patient-centered rather than service-centered, where patients are provided with ongoing information during their wait for an NHS service. 

Using technology to make better clinical decisions 

Alistair, Vice President of VitalHub, explained how a product of theirs, MCAP, helps the flow of patients through NHS services. 

10 days of bed rest in a hospital leads to a 14% reduction in leg and hip muscle strength, as well as a drop of 12% in aerobic capacity. This is equivalent to 10 years of life. Alistair emphasised how important it is that a patient is moved to the next stage of care as soon as they are ready, and MCAP helps identify barriers or blocks to this flow. 

MCAP gives providers the tools to: 

• Reduce the length of stay 
• Increase daily discharges 
• Reduce internal waits such as for diagnostics 
• Support an integrated care system wide approach to winter planning 

Data underpins improved patient outcomes

Paul explains how we need to make use of data to understand the quality of care provided at locations, and that Radar Healthcare presents this data in an easy-to-understand manner to drive a smoother patient journey. With this should come a reduced number of referrals back to hospital, thus saving both patient and provider time. 

Ann continued the point about the importance of data and said that technology can bring together siloed data from different organisations, which will help the development of integrated care systems. “In my opinion, the only way forward is an integrated technology approach.” 

Catch up on the webinar 

If you missed the webinar, catch up below. All speakers expand on the points summarised in this blog so it’s one not to be missed!